Andy Burnham rips into Brexit as he sets Britain on a path to closer ties with the European Union

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Andy Burnham unveiled plans to rebuild Britain’s ties with the European Union and undo some of the economic harm of Brexit .

In a bold move, the Prime Minister stressed that he would seek to find a consensus in the UK for a closer relationship with the EU .

“Brexit has done more harm than good,” he said in his first speech as Labour leader to the party’s annual conference in Liverpool.

The Prime Minister did not detail whether he was seeking to rejoin the Customs Union, the Single Market or another option.

But he was blunt in telling of the economic damage inflicted on Britain from Brexit , and to the EU.

The UK’s economic watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, says splintering away from the European Union has wiped billions off the economy, depriving the country of desperately-needed money for hospitals, schools and other public services.

The Leave campaign, led by Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage , sought to lure voters by dangling the prospect of £350 million more a week for the NHS from quitting the EU, which was famously emblazoned across a bus.

Mr Burnham outlined how at a UK-EU summit later this year he would seek to strike deals on immigration and to help the sectors in Britain most harmed by Brexit.

But he added: “These are important, concrete steps, but they are not enough.

“I say this to you and the country - we will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of this century until we decide on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market.”

The former Mayor of Greater Manchester, who built a reputation for working with allies and rivals, stressed: “I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good.

“We need to restore a higher level of growth and prosperity for Britain.

“So I will take the opportunity around the summit to lay out to you, to lay out to the country, what I believe the different options are for Britain's long-term relationship with our European partners, and there are different options.

“And I will see if we can find consensus around one, which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the Continent that we live in.”

After the 2016 Brexit referendum, where London voted by 60% to 40% to Remain, Labour politicians have shied away from re-opening the debate on links with the EU amid fears of upsetting voters in the North and Midlands.

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However, with Mr Farage’s Reform UK falling in popularity and the economic harm from Brexit becoming ever more obvious, Sir Keir Starmer and his then Chancellor Rachel Reeves started to speak out on the issue.

London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan is now urging Mr Burnham to prepare Britain to rejoin the EU.

Brexiteers promised voters a huge new trade deal with America to compensate for severing ties with the EU but this has failed to materialise.